Crochet Pattern: Goldfish Washcloth

By Emilee Gettle – 12 Comments
I have a toddler in the house and that means that bath time is synonymous with play time! So I made this little goldfish for her to swim away with. I used old fashion cotton worsted weight yarn for super absorbency. Plus, it will lather up perfectly with her favorite bubble bath. This pattern could easily be adjusted to be a soap saver too! New baby on the way? Are you looking for a shower gift? These little fish are so fast to make, why not whip up a couple and give with a set of bath towels. The new mom will appreciate their playful usefulness!

Skill Level:

Finished Size: 8″ (20 cm) diameter, 4″ (10 cm) tall

Materials:
Orange Medium Worsted Weight Cotton Yarn (approximately 120 yards)
Black Medium Worsted Weight Cotton Yarn (less than 1/4 yard)
Crochet Hook H (5 mm)
Yarn needle

crochet yarn size 4

Gauge:
4 sc stitches = 1 inch
2 sc rows = 1 inch

Need help understanding the crochet abbreviations and symbols? Check out the crochet abbreviation chart.

Crochet Pattern: Goldfish Washcloth
Make 2
Row 1: with orange, ch 3, sc in second ch from hook, 2 sc in next ch, ch 1, turn: 3 sc
Row 2-11: sc in each sc across until 1 sc remains, 2 sc in last sc, ch 1, turn
Row 12: sc in each sc across, ch 1, turn: 13 sc
Row 13: skip first sc, sc in next sc and in each sc across, ch 1, turn
Row 14: sc in each sc across, ch 1, turn
Row 15-28: repeat row 13-14
Row 29-33: skip first sc, sc in next sc and in each sc across, ch 1, turn
Row 34-37: sc in each sc across until 1 sc remains, 2 sc in last sc, ch 1, turn
Row 38-39: 2 sc in each sc across
Finish off.

Assembly
Whip stitch the two pieces together and weave in ends. Use a needle and black yarn to satin stitch eyes. Then, backstitch a mouth if desired.

If you’d like to add a fringe fin, use orange yarn and start by weaving the yarn up to the spot where you’d like the fringe to begin. Complete a whip stitch and then, I used my index finger as a guide and wrapped the yarn one loop at a time over my finger and through the fish. Whip stitch one time and finish off.

Feel like a fish out of water? Need some help? Feel free to leave a comment below and I’ll get back with you!

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12 Comments

  1. brandy says:

    good morning, super cute fishy! i’ve made similar small projects filled w/catnip for my cat, pablo. i think my 3 year old nephew will love this! he is SO into cars and trains…typical boy…i’ve looked for simple car patterns to make a soap holder for him and cannot find any, and i am no artist believe me! if you know of any i’d appreciate it. btw, where did you find that bright orange cotton? i’ve never seen any. thank you for your wonderful site, it is so humble and unpretentious, something i have rarely seen. thanks again!

  2. Emilee says:

    Hi Brandy!

    I’ll have to put that car soap saver idea under my hat! Maybe we can work on one of those sometime! I found my orange “Peaches and Creme” yarn at Wal-Mart, but I’m sure you could find it online. 🙂 It’s so cheap, so I like to have some in my stash for just such an occasion! 🙂 Have fun!

  3. Wizzy says:

    This is so cute! We have 8 grandchildren and they all would love one! I can make them in all of their favorite colors to personalize them. Thank you.

  4. Wanda says:

    I’m having trouble with this pattern. I did work one as written but it’s too elongated to look like a goldfish. If you work it right by the pattern, you have 13 stitches at the end of row 12, not 11. So I didn’t know how many rows to do after that to get it to look like this one as there aren’t row counts
    after row 12. Could you take a look at it and let me know what’s what? I would like to do a cloth
    for my grandson.

  5. Jill says:

    I’m having the exact same problem as Wanda. Also, even with the oddly shaped body, when you get to the fin, with the directions as they are, you reach a point where you have a row lacking enough stitches to proceed. The directions seem to be missing a step or two. Help! I’ve spent all day crocheting this, undoing my stitches, and re-crocheting to try and figure what’s wrong with no luck.

  6. Emilee says:

    Dear Wanda and Jill,

    So sorry for the confusion! I know how frustrating that can be! You were right, there was a typo in the pattern. My apologies! At the end of row 12 you should have 13 stitches and not 11. I’ve fixed the pattern.

    Thanks again! Hope this solves the mystery!
    Emilee

  7. Wanda says:

    Thanks Emilee. I’ll have to make another and try out the new directions. 🙂

  8. Donna says:

    I have tried to make this fish with no luck. I can get to row 12, and have my 13 stitches, but get confused after this point. I seem to only get my decrease on one side. Also, I don’t know how you will have enough stitches to get to row 28. Would love to make this if you can help me.

    • Terri says:

      I am having the same problems with this pattern…no way it works as written! I have 3 grandkids waiting for their fish washcloths & can not figure out how to fix this pattern to make it work. Please help!

  9. Wanda says:

    Emilee you seriously need to work on this pattern. You need to work it again……….and not by what you remember but strictly by the directions posted, and you will see there are so many places that just don’t work out as written and either take it down or fix it. I’m about to finish one right now (decided to do one after reading Terri’s post) and I will get it done but only after trial and error and changing things in several places. Being a fairly experienced crocheter I can figure out a lot of things on my own but this would be so confusing to less experienced crocheters.

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